Parent so children who are susceptible to such events (convulsions or seizures) suffer from stress, anxiety and lack of sleep, due to their continuing fear that the event may take place at such time as they are unaware of the event and unable to take care of the child. The device of the present invention will enable thee concerns to be overcome, by ensuring that the parents and caregivers are made aware of the event as soon as it commences. At present, there are known devices for notifying a caregiver when an infant stops breathing or when there is a significant rise in skin temperature, but the only way a parent is aware of convulsions is if he or she happens to be beside the child when they occur.
Febrile convulsions are characterized by frequent violent movement of the sufferer's hands and/or legs. Febrile convulsions occur in young children when there is a rapid increase in their body temperatures. They affect up to 5% of children between the ages of one and four, but can affect children between six months and about five years old.
Children who are at risk may naturally have a lower resistance to febrile convulsion than others. Children may inherit the tendency to suffer febrile convulsions from their parents. If either parent suffered a febrile convulsion as a child, the risk of the child having one or more rises 10 to 20%. If both parents and their child have at some point suffered a febrile convulsion, the risk of another child having one rises 20 to 30%.
Nevertheless, the child's susceptibility also depends on whether the child frequently gets infections. About 40% of children who have had febrile convulsions will get them again at some stage, although the risk differs greatly from child to child. The child's risk of febrile convulsions rises if:                they are genetically predisposed to it        they suffer from frequent illnesses, particularly those which cause high temperatures (fever)        the first attack of febrile convulsion was accompanied by a relatively low body temperature—below 39° C.        
One in a thousand children may suffer a febrile convulsion after receiving the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. In these cases, it occurs 8 to 10 days after the vaccination and is caused by the measles component of the vaccine. However, this causes only about one tenth of cases of febrile convulsion compared with measles itself.
The symptoms of febrile convulsions are:                The attack often begins with the child losing consciousness, and shortly afterwards the body, legs and arms go stiff.        The head is thrown backwards and the arms and legs begin to jerk.        The skin goes pale and may even turn blue, briefly.        The attack ends after a few minutes, and the shaking stops. The child goes limp, and then normal colour and consciousness slowly return.        Some children regain consciousness faster than others.        
Caregivers should not intervene while the attack is taking place, except in the circumstance outlined below.
Carefully turn the child's head to one side to prevent choking. In the past, it was common to place a stick in the child's mouth to prevent bites to the tongue or lips.
When the fit subsides, the child should be kept in the recovery position on his on her side. If fits are prolonged or follow each other rapidly, an ambulance should be called.
The first time a child suffers febrile convulsions, he should be admitted to hospital. If the child has suffered attacks on earlier occasions, hospitalization is not always necessary. However, it is always important, for example, to determine whether the convulsions are only due to a harmless viral infection. For this reason, a doctor should always be consulted following an attack.
If the child has a history of febrile convulsions, parents are sometimes advised to have the medicine diazepam ready in case an attack takes place. It can be given into the rectum from a specific rectal tube and takes effect in a few minutes.
If the attack goes on for more than five minutes treatment can be repeated, but medical advice should always be sought in any prolonged fit. Dosage instructions must be carefully adhered to.
Care should be taken to ensure the child is not too hot, by removing extra clothing or bedclothes.
Some doctors advise parents to give the child mild painkillers, such as paracetamol (e.g., Calpol) or ibuprofen (e.g., Nurofen for children). This lowers the temperature by between 1 and 1.5° C. It is important to give the recommended dose, only.
Although febrile convulsions look like epileptic fits, they rarely have anything in common with this illness. 99% of children who have had a febrile convulsion have no more fits after they reach school age.
Although febrile convulsion often seems frightening, it rarely results in any permanent injuries. If, however, the convulsions last a long time or the child suffers several attacks in quick succession, slight disturbances in the brain function may occur.
Temperature-lowering medicines, such as paracetamol, can help lower body temperature but need to be repeated. If not, the temperature will rise rapidly again.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for a device for providing a warning to parents or caregivers when a febrile convulsion begins, and it would be very desirable is such a device were of small size for wearing on the arm or leg of a child.